our programs

NFTE works with students low-income communities across the country and around the world, which are often plagued by crime, violence and high dropout rates. In the United States, we target communities in which at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.

NFTE teaches skills relevant to the real world, motivating students to stay in school. Students learn to recognize opportunities for success all around them, and graduate with the necessary presentation, leadership, and problem-solving skills for continuing their education and contributing to the economy by either running their own businesses or joining the workforce. The strong financial literacy skills that students learn help them to make and manage money.

The entrepreneurial mindset is the set of attitudes, skills, and behaviors that students need to succeed academically, personally, and professionally. These include: initiative and self-direction, risk-taking, flexibility and adaptability, creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving. For 26 years, NFTE has worked with at-risk students to help them uncover and hone these qualities. More than any other organization in our field, NFTE knows how to develop the entrepreneurial mindset and how to see the core factors of the mindset come to life in a student.